When Sam and Robin Zamarripa decided to start the next chapter for their winery by creating a new tasting room, no plain, ordinary facility would do.
The founders of Doghobble Wine Farm, an 80-acre property perched atop the Dahlonega Plateau in the heart of North Georgia’s wine country, opted to find a way to blend tradition and rustic charm with elegance and a contemporary feel to create a space that would offer visitors an immersive experience and scenic vineyard views.
The collaboration between the Zamarripas, The Johnson Studio at Cooper Carry, builder Wes Stone of John Wesley Hammer Construction and landscape designer Megan Hull of Westwood Studios resulted in an old farmhouse on the property being transformed into Trellis, a 4,000-square-foot indoor tasting room that opened last July.
“Doghobble Wine Farm draws its identity from the land beneath it and the traditions rooted in its soil,” Sam Zamarripa explains. “So, when it came time to create a tasting room, we didn’t want something generic or incidental. We wanted a space that was fully intentional — one that would invite people to engage, to be curious, to ask questions about what they’re seeing and tasting and feeling and to share all of that with the people they came with. Wine, at its best, does exactly that. The architecture should, too.
“Rather than build something new, we made a deliberate choice to preserve and transform the farm’s original 1972 wood-frame farmhouse — a structure that had stood quietly at the heart of the property for more than 50 years. It took more than a year for our team to see its full potential, to look past the weathered bones and recognize the jewel box waiting to emerge on that vineyard hilltop. That process of discovery — of seeing what’s already there and understanding what it could become — is very much in the spirit of Doghobble.”
Where History and Today Meet
The team meant for the space to “align with Georgia craftsmanship, the Georgia landscape and Georgia grapes, which have a history in the region,” Zamarripa continues.
“We believe deeply in great designers and great design,” he says. “There is a timeless relationship between beautiful vineyards and compelling architecture — and wine sits at the center of that relationship, connecting the land, the craft and the people who gather around it. We wanted Trellis to honor that.”
Historic elements of the building were preserved, and the existing form was elevated to support the structure’s new identity. Trellis includes a partial basement, floor-to-ceiling glass walls, rafters of the old farmhouse and the original wood-stud frame, all surrounded by grape vines. To warm up the glass building, the design features rich wood floors, eclectic furniture, cozy lounge seating, rustic fireplaces and inviting lighting.
Anchoring the space is a dramatic wine-tasting bar with a concrete top, and bright wine bottles displayed on shelves around the room add a pop of color. And a 420-square-foot restroom was added on the eastern side.
Wine in Wonderland
The finished project “exceeded everything we imagined, and that is entirely a reflection of the people we chose to work with,” Zamarripa shares, noting the team members “brought a shared belief that design should do more than look beautiful.”
“It should make you feel something, prompt a question, pull you deeper into a place and a moment,” he says. “And that is exactly what we hear from guests. There’s always a pause when someone steps in for the first time. They’re surprised by the exposed stud walls and rafters of the old farmhouse, drawn in by the light pouring through the glass walls and suddenly aware they’re surrounded by vines on all sides. It’s a bit of an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ moment — familiar, yet completely unexpected. People start asking questions: What is this building? Why does it feel this way? What am I looking at? And then someone hands them a glass of wine, and the whole thing comes together. That’s exactly what we were after.”
People ask how the tasting room received its name, and Zamarripa says it came from the divided-canopy trellising method, called the Watson system, that the vineyard employs for growing the grapes.
“When you arrive at Trellis, the pergola on the front of the building mirrors that same architecture,” he explains. “It’s not decorative; it’s a direct echo of what’s happening in the rows just beyond it. And then you step inside and see the exposed wood-stud frame of the 1972 farmhouse — uncovered, celebrated, standing exactly as it was built. The building itself is a trellis. (So) the name chose itself. And that’s the kind of thing that happens when design is truly intentional. The connections reveal themselves, and they’re all real. The vineyard, the architecture, the wine. Here at Doghobble, they are not separate experiences. They are one.”
Whether relaxing in Trellis or The Pavilion on the Plateau — an open outdoor tasting room completed in 2024 — guests can enjoy the scenic view while dining on a meal created by Chef Becca. Enjoy dishes like empanadas, bruschetta, prosciutto-wrapped dates, focaccia or a chef’s board, each paired with the perfect wine. The chef sources locally whenever possible, from basil grown in the winery’s garden to figs and persimmons harvested in the fall. Or try a slice of wood-fired pizza from the Embers pizza truck with the properly paired wine, perhaps pepperoni or sausage with Norton or Chambourcin, veggie with rosé or Carlos, meat lovers with Lenoir or Margherita with Traminette or chardonnay.
The next time you’re looking for a new experience, travel to Doghobble — named after Leucothoe fontanesiana, a native evergreen shrub called “doghobble” that grows wild in the North Georgia mountains. Since 2020, the Zamarripas have been sharing their passion for indigenous grapes, artful winemaking, sustainable farming, authentic farm life and family-friendly hospitality with the community to help guests create lasting memories.
Doghobble Wine Farm is located at 10 Roy Grindle Road in Dahlonega. For more information, visit doghobblevineyard.com.
